Officials: No link between Super Bowl and Dome future

Reliant Stadium will host the Super Bowl in 2017, and a revamped Astrodome could be one of the attractions.

Reliant Stadium will host the Super Bowl in 2017, and a revamped...

The site of the 2017 Super Bowl and the Reliant Astrodome share a parking lot. That is all. Any perceived connection between the Dome's future and the NFL extravaganza is purely imaginary. And any suggestion there was a deal to blow up the Dome in exchange for the game is the stuff of conspiracy theory.

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Nor is there an agreement - written or secret - that Houston's selection hinged on converting the former baseball-football stadium into a parking lot, those planning Super Bowl LI and those working to save the iconic structure agreed.

"Not at all," said Greg Ortale, bid committee member and president of the Greater Houston Convention and Visitors Bureau. "We addressed the Astrodome with the NFL early on. We told them it would not be part of our bid and there was a process in place to be determined with voters voting."

As early as January, Ortale said he explained the county's plan for reviewing and possibly deciding the Dome's fate at a June 25 Commissioners Court meeting.

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Months later, speculation revived that the NFL was determined to see the building torn down.

Sitting idle

The Dome, which opened in 1965, has sat empty since the city deemed it unfit for occupancy in 2009 and has not been home to a team for more than a decade. The sports corporation has set a June 10 deadline for receiving proposals for renovating the stadium. Under a timeline adopted in April, the sports corporation will analyze any proposals it receives and deliver recommendations to Commissioners Court on June 25, the day the court is scheduled to consider the county's capital projects plan.

It is no secret that Texans owner Bob McNair and the Houston Rodeo want a decision on the Dome made soon, commissioning a study in March that found the cost to demolish the structure was significantly cheaper than county officials originally calculated.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell fueled flattening fears when he was asked to comment on the study.

"That issue is for the community to decide, but I think having an extra 2,500 parking spaces would enhance Houston's bid," Goodell said.

He soon clarified he does not want to be involved in the Astrodome process. He just wanted to acknowledge the long-known fact that Reliant Stadium needs more parking.

Another option

Proposing to make Super Bowl LI the longest, largest football party to date only increases pressure on local leaders to ensure the celebration is not dampened by traffic congestion and cars jousting for that last open spot.

Chris Alexander, of Astrodome Tomorrow, said that does not necessarily strengthen the arguments of those seeking to tear down the Astrodome.

Alexander, whose group wants to renovate the Dome into a high-tech entertainment and exhibition space, said their proposal includes expanding parking by building a garage on the Kirby lot.

He believes the plan for the county to review all proposals after the June 10 submission deadline, have the commissioners court choose the best option and then possibly have voters approve it clearly takes the decision out of the NFL's control.

County Judge Ed Emmett agreed.

"It's a totally separate question," he said.

Emmett assured reporters at a Wednesday news conference that whatever Astrodome fate is approved by the commissioners should be completed in time for the 2017 kickoff.